What is physical and mental burnout and how to prevent it

Javier Colomer 7 min. of reading Well-being habits Leave a comment

We’ve all felt tired or physically drained at some point in our lives. It’s a common experience that can be temporary, but when it becomes constant and hard to manage, it’s important to pay attention. We can distinguish these types of fatigue:

Physical Fatigue: muscles can’t keep up the physical effort at the pace they started. This can last and affect daily life.
Mental Fatigue: makes it hard to carry out normal cognitive activities, showing up as lack of focus, demotivation, and sleepiness.
Adrenal Fatigue: low function of the adrenal glands due to prolonged stress. Many experts think this condition is more of a myth, suggesting it’s really about excessive stress and lack of rest affecting our hormonal balance and well-being.

Ever wondered why you’re always tired?

In this article, we’ll explain how to spot physical exhaustion, its causes, and how to prevent it to boost your quality of life.

Causes of exhaustion

When someone experiences exhaustion or physical fatigue, it means they can’t keep functioning within their normal physical capacity. Mental fatigue also plays a big role.

Stress

It’s 6:45 and the alarm goes off. Feels like you just turned off the light after making dinner, picking up clothes, feeding the kids, clearing the table, and loading the dishwasher. Even though the day has 24 hours, it feels like double for you.

The constant repetition of this daily routine isn’t the main issue, but the workload and responsibilities that wear you down physically and mentally over time.

Stress Test

Answer Yes or No:

You wake up every morning “foggy” and don’t see any way to start the day without some coffee.
You often feel tired.
You have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night.
Lately, you feel irritable, frustrated, or emotionally down.
You find yourself dozing off during the day.
If you get sick, it takes you a long time to recover.

If you answered yes to several of these, you probably need to disconnect a bit to manage and release that stress.

Cortisol

Cortisol is the hormone activated in critical stress situations, allowing quick reactions that were vital for our ancestors. Nowadays, keeping a constant state of stress raises cortisol levels harmfully.

Normally, cortisol peaks at the start of the day and drops by night, matching nighttime rest. However, abnormally high and prolonged cortisol levels can cause various problems:

Increased blood sugar
Suppression of pituitary function, leading to low testosterone levels
Reduced liver detox capacity
Inflammation and gut issues
Immune system disruption, raising infection risk
Insomnia

These effects can wreck physical efforts and compromise overall health, highlighting the importance of managing stress properly.

Lifestyle pace

Especially if you live in a city, this situation only gets worse. Having to stick to tight schedules, going out again with food still digesting… these are reasons why someone fights a tough daily battle (against themselves) and why cortisol stays activated longer.

Unfortunately, there’s little to do about this. It’s the “innovations” of the 21st century causing this problem.

But we can act accordingly. Through activities that help reduce the harmful effects of stress, and that don’t cause constant discomfort in our daily tasks.

Vitamin B12 Deficiency

One group that may feel the effects of vitamin B12 deficiency are vegetarians or vegans.

But it’s not exclusive to them; people with autoimmune diseases (like Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis…), celiacs, alcohol consumers, or patients with leaky gut syndrome can also have this diagnosis.

Vitamin B12 is known as cobalamin, and plays very important roles in reactions like nervous system health, red blood cell synthesis, DNA… Low levels of this water-soluble vitamin can cause issues like:

Anemia.
Weakness and exhaustion.
Difficulty breathing.
Depressive symptoms.
Confusion, memory loss, and mental fog.

Iron Deficiency or Excess

Iron is essential for human health, supporting red blood cells in oxygen transport and involved in important metabolic processes. It’s vital for enzyme, hormone, and neurotransmitter synthesis, especially in athletes and people recovering from illness.

Iron Loss and Absorption

Iron is lost through urination, sweating, bowel movements, and skin shedding. Women and certain groups like vegetarians, vegans, and people with stomach issues are at higher risk of deficiency. Vitamin C helps absorption, while coffee and tea can inhibit it.

Symptoms and Risks

Deficiency: Fatigue, dizziness, and reduced athletic performance.
Excess: Can cause hemochromatosis, with symptoms like fatigue, abdominal pain, and skin color changes.

How to beat physical and mental exhaustion

Sometimes, daily responsibilities can overwhelm us and affect physical and mental health. It’s necessary to find ways to relax and take care of ourselves. Here are some strategies to boost your well-being:

Prioritize your health and find ways to disconnect every now and then.
Relax with walks on the beach or in the mountains, visiting spas or wellness centers.
Avoid processed foods and low-quality snacks.
Maintain a healthy diet with eggs, lean meats, fresh fish, fresh cheese, sources of essential fats, fresh fruits and veggies, and moderate low glycemic carbs.
Prepare meals ahead and choose healthy snacks and leftovers from healthy dinners.
Ensure adequate salt intake for aldosterone production and avoid low-sodium, high-potassium drinks if you have cortisol issues.
Use sports as a way to release tension and keep moderate activity to avoid draining your energy.
Choose efficient training routines like full-body or upper-lower splits and alternate workouts like steady running, HIIT, fartlek, and swimming.
Train away from bedtime to avoid insomnia.
Reduce light intensity before sleeping to boost melatonin, turning off lights, phones, and tablets before bed.
Avoid electromagnetic pollution and use a sleep mask if needed.
Know your limits and adjust your activity and rest routine to avoid overtraining and extreme exhaustion.

Recommended supplements to boost energy

Modern life often leaves us feeling drained and low on energy. To fight this, besides a balanced diet and regular exercise, supplements can be a valuable tool to regain vitality.

One of the most recommended supplements is Evoptogen, based on adaptogens and formulated to help reduce stress and improve both physical and mental endurance.

Evoptogen from SportSeries